She pushed open the door to the spare bedroom, which Gladys and Nan had spent all afternoon primping and preparing. It looked as if it’d been set up for royalty. Rowan pointed out several times that a six-foot biker fresh out of jail had no need for crochet cushion covers and goose down comforters.
She ushered him in from the safety of the landing. “Your room.”
He smiled, and lifted his eyebrows. “Why don’t you come in and help me get settled?”
There it was, without a moment’s hesitation, the assumption. She folded her arms across her chest and glared at him. “No way.”
“Why deny it, Rowan? I can see you want me as much as I want you.” He put one arm up against the door frame, his massive physique towering over her.
The creak of his leather jacket brought back memories she thought long buried. She shook her head. “Damn you, Sean.”
There was a wicked gleam in his eye. “You always did look hellishly sexy when you’re annoyed about something. I never could resist you, stepsister or not.”
“Arrogant prick,” she muttered. It was like the past three years hadn’t even happened. “That was a long time ago, and you expect to come here and have me fall on my back for you when you haven’t even sent me much as text message from three years.”
“Two and a half.”
“Three.”
“You always did love to exaggerate.” He moved closer to her. “Be honest,” he whispered against her ear, “you missed me.”
Defiant, she tried to move out of his grasp.
Before she could dart away, he wrapped his large hands around her shoulders and walked her back against the wall. Overwhelmed, she grasped and thumped his chest. She hated that her body responded so keenly to his proximity. She could smell him, soap and beneath it, his scent, so familiar, doing bad things to her
With a husky laugh, he shook his head. “A lot has changed, yes but some things never change. You want me every bit as much as I want you.”
She thumped his chest with her fist. All that did was assure her the muscles under the jacket were solid, making her hands itch to check them out. “Stop assuming! You don’t know me any more, Sean Rattigan.”
“You admit I knew you well enough back then though. Knew how to make you happy. How to make you laugh. How to make you come.” His fingers were around the back of the neck, thumb stroking her under her chin.
It was a good job the wall was behind her, because Rowan was so turned on by his actions, she was practically melting down the surface. How did that happen? How did the mere touch of his fingers stroking her take away the strength and independence she was so proud of, the qualities she clung to on pain of death. “How dare you? What we had back then was nothing but a teenage fling. Doesn’t mean you can come in here and expect me to drop my panties for you.”
“I’m not expecting you to do anything you don’t want to do, but I always could tell when you were turned on. Something about your eyes, sweetheart.”
His Ir
ish brogue tapped deep into her psyche, and he was holding her so she couldn’t look away, forcing her to look back into his eyes while he confronted her.
“Besides,” he continued, “you wouldn’t deny a man fresh out of prison the chance to hold a woman in his arms.” His eyes darkened, his expression turning deadly serious. “The woman he thought about for a whole year behind bars…the only thing that kept him alive.”
Her breath caught in her throat. Intrigued, she stared at his face. It was so much more brutal and rugged than she remembered. Was it true? The only way to find out would be to hear him out, discuss things properly, but that wasn’t an option. Her emotions were all over the place and he was far too full on to have a rational conversation. “We’re not kids any more, Sean. You can’t make comments like wishes on the wind and expect me to fall under your spell. You used to think you could say anything to get between my legs, but we’re all grown up now.”
“I’m not easy any more,” she blurted, and then bit her lip, realizing what she’d said. Her body was at odds with her brain though. His arrival had unleashed her sexuality, as if his very presence in her life turned her into something she couldn’t easily control or push aside.
“You never were.” The sudden twinkle in his eyes indicated he was laughing at her comments.
As well he might, she admitted to herself reluctantly. What in gods name made her declare she wasn’t easy any more?
“There’s that look in your eyes again, Rowan. You aren’t convincing me you don’t want to try this bed out with me.” He nodded his head past the empty door into the room that had been prepared for him.
Meanwhile, he brushed his knuckles against the soft skin of her breastbone, a touch that electrified her—both gentle and brutal as it was. It was a reminder of what they’d been like, pent up desire had made them so hot for each other that they’d fuck with aggression, burning off the lust that’d been fuelled by the forbidden nature of the relationship. Stepbrother and stepsister, exploring each other intimately, while their parents thought they were simply hanging out and playing by the rules.
It had been good. The best. No one had ever lived up to Sean.
Chaos enveloped her, her thoughts unravelling. Even as his fingers cruised the surface of her skin, she grew damper between her thighs, her body anticipating him. She couldn’t bring herself to demand he stop touching her, because deep down she didn’t want to. “You walked out of here with so much as a goodbye,” she muttered under her breath, determined he feel some of what she’d felt.
“It was the wrong thing to do, I know that now. I apologize and, if you let me, I’ll show you how sorry I am. I never stopped wanting you.”